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ENGLAND should follow Chelseas blueprint for European glory as they look to cope with the absence of Harry Maguire.

That is the verdict of former Three Lions defender Martin Keown ahead of the Euros.

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Arsenal Invincible Keown believes Thomas Tuchels three-man Chelsea defensive system was the key to last weeks Champions League final win against Manchester City.

And while he suspects that England boss Gareth Southgate had been planning to play with four at the back, Maguires absence will mean a major rethink.

Keown says: Maguire is a huge loss for England because hes very dominant in the air, hes never ruffled in possession and he has that quality on the ball that you need at international level.

But if hes not going to be fit then we are better off playing with a back three because I can barely remember a time when the back-up central defenders had so few international caps.

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Gareth was looking to get more creative players into the team higher up the pitch, which is better suited to 4-3-3.

But now we should look at what Tuchel has done at Chelsea and ask if it is something which England can copy?

There are three Chelsea players in the squad who are used to playing that way and I dont think wed go far wrong going into a tournament playing like that.

Im not saying that guys like Conor Coady and Tyrone Mings arent good enough. I think they lack international experience so a back four is a problem for England.

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Keown expects Kyle Walker, John Stones and Mings to start Englands opening game against Croatia at Wembley in eight days time.

The only problem is that the trio has never played together before and will have next to no time to sort themselves out.

Keown, an ambassador for McDonalds Fun Football programme, says: We have to hit the ground running because we have the World Cup finalists in our first game.

We did well in our last tournament at the World Cup three years ago but the draw was kind to us in Russia and thats not the case this time.

I certainly feel that we can get out of this group but the Czech Republic and Scotland are not going to be pushovers.

And even if we do win the group, we will be up against France, Germany or Portugal in the first knockout game.

So while I am optimistic about Englands chances, we also have to be realistic.

I remember that every time I returned to Arsenal from an international tournament the French players would say theres the English again, saying theyre going to win it.

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They used to draw strength from that so its important to respect the opposition but have the belief we can do well.

Despite the injury problems troubling Southgate, Keown is convinced there is enough quality in this squad to make a real impression.

He added: Theres nine or ten players with the experience of getting to a World Cup semi-final who know how to deal with the pressure of carrying a nations expectations.

I really like the look of Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in midfield, although well need both of them to sit in front of the defence rather than having one of them wandering away, as happened against Austria the other night.

But the good news is that our young attacking players are the envy of Europe.

Gareth is almost spoiled for choice with Foden, Mount, Grealish, Saka, Sancho, Sterling, Rashford and Kane.

Its all about creating the right balance to accommodate all these. Some of them will miss out, especially if were going to play a back three.

Martin Keown is calling on families to sign up for McDonalds free Fun Football sessions, which will get thousands of children playing football this summer. To find a local session go to mcdonalds.co.uk/football

More here:
England should use Chelsea blueprint and have three centre-backs without Maguire, says Three Lions &... - The US Sun

Canadian singer-songwriter Grimes (Claire Elise Boucher).

Just like her partner Elon Musk, Grimes seems to want to save humanity from itself, via grand, poorly thought-out ideas that involve little more than sitting back, and letting the billionaires take care care of it.

Dont waste time thinking about all that staggering wealth inequality, climate change, or whatever - artificial intelligence is going to swoop down and save us, somehow.

In a TikTok posted to her account on Wednesday with the caption A.I. is the fastest path to communism, the pop star offered her insight into the state of the world, and the limitless luxury of the future.

So typically, most of the communists I know are not big fans of A.I, Grimes began. But, if you think about it, A.I. is actually the fastest path to communism. She went on to explain, So, if implemented correctly, A.I. could actually theoretically solve for abundance. Like, we could totally get to a situation where nobody has to work; everybody is provided for with a comparable state of being, comfortable living. A.I. could automate all the farming, weed out systematic corruption, thereby bringing us as close as possible to genuine equality.

She concluded her proposal by adding, So basically, everything that everybody loves about communism, but without the collective farm. Cause, lets be real, enforced farming is really not a vibe.

The most accurate statement was surely the final sentence - enforced farming is indeed, not a vibe. Idyllic farming sims like Stardew Valley aside, the average urban dweller is hilariously unequipped for the simple life. One cant deny that the cant someone else do it? philosophy is extremely appealing, at least, when applied to machines.

But Grimes might have been better off opening a book (or at least skimming Wikipedia) before filming that TikTok clip - she seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding of what communism is. Hence, Twitter leftists leaped at the opportunity to explain what Grimes misinterpreted.

Other Twitter users poked fun at Grimes confident, casual ignorance, along with the irony of her being in a relationship with one of the richest men on the planet.

Communists, of course, do not envision a world devoid of work, but a world in which workers are entitled to reap the benefits from their labour. The intent is defined by the phrase, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Before being associated with hyper-capitalist Elon Musk, Grimes appeared to be a proud anti-capitalist (and edgelord), even quoting Joseph Stalin in her senior yearbook photo.

Grimes appears to be, like so many artists that inhabit the world of the uber-wealthy, cosplaying as a revolutionary, vaguely posturing towards leftist ideas, while demonstrating a complete misunderstanding (and seemingly, a lack of interest) towards them.

And to be fair, why would she? Grimes, along with Elon Musk, doesnt need to worry about who controls her hypothetical, godlike AI; the two are forever cushioned by the invisible safety net of immense wealth and privilege.

Maybe that future Mars settlement could use someone a bit more ... down-to-earth.

Go here to read the rest:
On TikTok, Grimes Pitches Fully Automated Luxury Communism - Forbes

By Richard Baum, Ph.D., University of California, Los AngelesChinasGuomindangforcibly conscripted millions of young men for the war effort. (Image: Everett Collection/Shutterstock)A Near Miss

By the time the Chinese communists completed the Long March early in 1936, their ranks had been decimated by the pursuing nationalist armies and by the rigors of their 6,000 mile trek. They were exhausted, and vulnerable.

It was against this backdrop that in December 1936, the Young Marshal, Zhang Xueliang, was ordered by the nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-shek, to attack the communist stronghold in Yanan. Had he obeyed, there is little doubt that the Chinese Communist Party would have been wiped out in short order.

But Zhang Xueliang rebelled, and the communists were spared a final, fatal Nationalist assault. In the negotiated truce that followed, the communists were abletorevivethemselves, regroup, and gradually regain their lost momentum.

This is a transcript from the video series The Fall and Rise of China. Watch it now, on The Great Courses Plus.

When war with Japan broke out six months later, the massive Japanese assault that followed proved disastrous for the nationalists. It was directed largely at their strongholds. Most of the fatalities occurred during the nationalists unsuccessful defence of Shanghai, which fell to the invading Japanese in the autumn of 1937.

After occupying Shanghai and several key cities on the North China Plain, the Japanese next trained their sights on the nationalists capital of Nanjing. Though the Japanese assault began as a conventional military operation, it, however, quickly degenerated into uncontrolled havoc. By the end of January 1938, widespread looting, robbery, and arson had left much of the Guomindang capital in ruins.

After Nanjing, the Japanese army conducted an all-out offensive throughout the urban centers of the Yangzi River delta. By October 1938, the nationalists were forced to retreat into the deep rural interior of Sichuan Province. They made their headquarters in the commercial hub city of Chongqing. Nonetheless, Guomindangs military supply routes continued to came under heavy Japanese aerial bombardment.

The communists were able to avoid the brunt of Japanese attacks, which were directed mainly against Nationalist-held cities, rail lines, and commercial centers in east and northeast

With war material, consumer goods, and foodstuffs all in extremely short supply in Chongqing, inflationary pressures began to mount on the nationalists. These pressures were compounded by ill-advised government policies that responded to growing commodity shortages by increasing the supply of money, thereby fueling an inflationary spiral.

To compound to the problem the Guomindang forcibly conscripted millions of young men for the war effort. With their meagre pay, they were unable to support themselves and their families. They, thus, not only deserted but preyed on civilians in the countryside, stealing from those more helpless and vulnerable than themselves.

As corruption rose to dangerous levels, the Nationalists image suffered and popular morale steadily eroded.

To mobilize peasant support, the Red Army, (now named the Peoples Liberation Army or PLA), paid great attention to the political indoctrination of its recruits, so that they would not exploit local farmers. In this respect, their wartime behavior compared quite favorably with that of their increasingly predatory nationalist counterparts.

In addition, Yanan served as a magnet for patriotic Chinese from all parts of the country. Between 1937 and 1942, tens of thousands of people made their way to the communist base area to join the anti-Japanese resistance.

In the effort to counteract growing communist influence in the villages of north China, Japanese commanders pursued a scorched-earth policy of kill all, burn all, destroy all. Entire villages, suspected of harboring Communist agents, were burned to the ground, their inhabitants slaughtered. As a result, a deep and abiding rage against Japan took root among the peasants of north China. This rage ironically further propelled the Chinese communists in the rural psyche.

Learn more about the birth of Chinese communism.

Never trusting each other, Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek each sought to take advantage of the others vulnerabilities and weaknesses. The tensions between them reached the boiling point in July of 1941, when 9,000 communist troops from the PLAs New Fourth Army were ambushed by 80,000 nationalist soldiers in the mountains of south-central China. More than 3,000 Communists were killed, while additional thousands were sent to Guomindang prison camps.

Although from a purely military viewpoint the massacre was an unmitigated disaster for the communists, they were able to turn it to their advantage. By focusing their propaganda on Chiang Kai-sheks cold-blooded perfidy and his lack of sincerity in resisting Japan, they were able to generate considerable political capital and sympathy from the New Fourth Army Incident.

Learn more about the socialist transformation of 1953-1957.

When the US ended its neutral stand in the Sino-Japanese war, it got an opportunity to observe both the nationalists as well as the Communist Party.

General Stilwell observed that Chiang Kai-shek was far more interested in preserving his forces for the final showdown with communism than he was in engaging Japanese troops on the battlefield. The Dixie Mission on the other hand, too, felt the leadership of the Guomindang was corrupt, inept, ineffectual, and alarmingly isolated from the common people. By contrast, they found the communists to be well-led, highly disciplined, and uncorrupt.

In one rather prescient memo, a State Department observer named John Stewart Service predicted quite accurately that if present trends continued, with the Guomindang becoming increasingly undemocratic, unpopular, and economically irresponsible, the future of China would belong not to the nationalists but to the communists.

This glaring difference in the very moral fiber of the two parties would never have become obvious if not for the Sino-Japanese conflict. With the stunning reversal of its fortune, the Communist Party successfully used it as a stepping stone to emerge strong, unified and as the leaders of China.

Chiang Kai-shek asked Zhang Xueliang to attack the communist stronghold in Yanan. He rebelled and refused to follow the orders.

The PLA paid great attention to the political indoctrination of its recruits, so that they would not exploit local farmers.

He predicted that with the Guomindang becoming increasingly undemocratic, the future of China would belong to the communists.

Continue reading here:
Reversal of Fortune: The Rise of the Chinese Communists - The Great Courses Daily News

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Korean series take a bit of dedication to get into; the episodes are long and the stories tend to be slow burns, especially the dramas. We havent seen nearly as many k-dramadies as straight k-dramas, but it seems that the comedies are like what we used to see decades ago on TVs here in the States; goofy, slapsticky jokes, lots of physical humor, and set-ups that are unlikely at best and outlandish at worst. But does that mean that theyre not worth watching? Lets examine the case of the new Korean sports dramedyRacket Boys.

Opening Shot: A coach walks into a darkened gym and pretends to be serving in a big badminton match But hes really training a girl who criticizes his serving style.

The Gist: Yoon Hyeon-jong (Kim Sang-kyung) is struggling financially in Seoul. He gets work as a badminton coach and umpire, but hes got so many expenses that hes falling behind on his rent, and he takes odd jobs like moving gym equipment, just to scrape together 200,000 won (less than $200). His son, Hae-kang (Tang Joon-sang), is trying out for a prestigious baseball camp, taking first place among the teens whose parents havent paid the fees yet. But the second place finishers dad ended up paying, acing Hae-kang out of a spot.

Hyeon-jong hears about a coaching job at Haenam Seo Middle School, five hours outside the city. It pays a big salary and he gets a house to live in. At first, he scoffs at the job, but desperation takes hold and he agrees to the gig, moving Hae-kang and his young daughter Hae-in (Ahn Se-bin). Of course, the house they get is creepy and in the middle of nowhere, and everyone is so scared of the noises of nature they all sleep in the same room. Hae-kang is annoyed that he cant play baseball and theres no wifi.

When Hyeon-jong goes to the school, he finds that the team hasnt entered a tournament in a few years, and their funding will be cut if they dont improve. One of the reasons is that theyre a man down. The three members of the team are Bang Yoon-dam (Son Sang-yeon), a top player whos addicted to social media; Na Woo-chan (Choi Hyun-wook), who is the team peacemaker; and the youngest member, Lee Yong-tae (Kim Kang-hoon). With the next tournament in a week, Hyeon-jong is determined to fill out the team so they can at least participate.

At first, he finds a Black exchange student named Jonathan (himself), who came to Korea to follow the K-pop band GFriend. Then the team loses its dormitory and they have to move in with the Yoons. Then Jonathan leaves to see GFriend in concert. So Hyeon-jong asks Hae-kang to be the fourth member of the team. When a challenge match with Yoon-dam comes down to the wire, they find out that Hae-kang was a famous badminton prodigy when he was in grade school, but disappeared from the game for unknown reasons.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Racket Boys is a part of the tradition of underdog sports movies and shows, like The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, except with badminton.

Our Take: Alotmore happens in the first episode ofRacket Boys than we described above. Each episode clocks in just short of 90 minutes (!), so theres a whole lot of room to cram in characters and story, and writer Jung Bo-hoon does his level best to cram those characters in.

For instance, theres a girls team at the middle school, whose coach, Ra Yeong-ja (Oh Na-ra) is nicknamed Ranos for her tough demeanor and by-the-book coaching style. She also happens to be Hae-kang and Hae-ins mother. She and her two best players are also forced to move in with the Yoons and the rest of the boys team. Theres also Oh Mae (Cha Mi-kyung), a village grandma who takes care of Hae-in in a cheery daycare-center-like room in order to lure her own grandson to come visit.

So Hyeon-jong has a lot to deal with in that village, including making sure he improves the team enough to maintain the schools funding.Racket Boysis ostensibly a comedy, but that comedy is mostly of the silly variety, like Hyeon-jongs boss encouraging him to make favorable calls for the teams he supports, or the grandma giving Hae-kang the eye when he wants to see whats behind the mysterious door at her house.

But there are also touching moments, like when Hae-kang realizes that neither the grandma or her husband can read, so he helps her with the remote to her TV and sets up a way she can video call her grandson. And the badminton action is pretty decent, and not stretched out as much as sports action is in shows here in the US.

Were used to the extra-long episodes on k-dramas and k-dramedies, but it just feels like the first episode ofRacket Boyscould have been either slimmed down or split in two; either would have made for a more enjoyable viewing experience. Perhaps if youre streaming the show, its best to watch each episode in two sittings. Either way, if you focus on the more sincere moments and less on what passes for the funny moments, youll enjoy the show more.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: The team finds out who their next opponent will be, prompting them to dash around the gym after claiming to be exhausted after laps.

Sleeper Star: Tang Joon-sang has a lot of emotional moments as Hae-kang and he does a good job with them, for the most part.

Most Pilot-y Line: We continue to rail against this, but we hate when Korean shows telegraph their comedic moments with goofy musical cues. This show is full of those moments.

Our Call: SKIP IT. Racket Boys has a decent story, but the episodes are so long and jammed with story elements, its really hard to focus on the central story about the middle school badminton team.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesnt kid himself: hes a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

StreamRacket Boys On Netflix

Read more from the original source:
Stream It Or Skip It: 'Racket Boys' On Netflix, A Korean Dramedy About A Coach And His Ragtag Teen Badminton Team - Decider